Danny Masterson dropped from 'The Ranch' after several women accuse him of rape

Danny Masterson is “very disappointed” to be written out of his Netflix comedy The Ranch after being accused of rape by multiple women.

The Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation after four women accused the former That ’70s Show star of rape, allegations which he denied, back in March.

In November, shortly after Netflix bosses severed ties with Kevin Spacey when he was hit with sexual harassment and assault allegations, one of Masterson’s accusers Chrissie Carnell Bixler blasted them for continuing to work with Masterson and a petition was set up calling for the show to be cancelled.

Netflix bosses announced on Tuesday that he has now been written out of the show, which co-stars Ashton Kutcher, following his last day on set on Monday.

“As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of The Ranch. (Monday) was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him,” a Netflix representative said in a statement.

After discussing with the producers, we've decided to write Danny Masterson off of The Ranch. Yesterday was his last day of work, and we'll make new episodes in 2018 without him.

He will still appear in the second half of season two, which is due to be released on the streaming service on 15 December. It is also thought he may return for an appearance in season three while they write him out, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 41-year-old also issued a statement to TMZ.com saying he was “very disappointed” with the move and continued to deny the claims.

“From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit,” he said. “I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. In this country you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, in the current climate, it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused.”

The news comes a day after one of Masterson’s alleged victims, who remains anonymous, told HuffPost she had a conversation with Andy Yeatman, Netflix’s director of global kids content, at the sidelines of a children’s soccer game over the weekend and he told her that Netflix authorities did not believe the accusers, unaware that she was one of them.

A Netflix spokesman confirmed the comments in a statement to the website and called them “careless” and “uninformed” and not representative of the company.